New SADLE

New SADLE takes its name from "New Skill and Development Learning Experience." New SADLE is a not-for-profit training and employment program for artisans who have had leprosy or polio, who have other disabilities, or who are socially disadvantaged. The organization offers free medical treatment to artisans and provides handicraft skills that can lead to financially sustainable jobs, important in a society where people with leprosy are often shunned and forced to beg. New SADLE encourages artisans to return to their homes, and provides rent and child allowances to enable integration into society. Artisans receive free day-care and schooling up to grade 12 for their children. New SADLE runs a medical center, two mobile health clinics, a hospital and two homes for people who cannot work and who have no family. Ten Thousand Villages has purchased products from New SADLE since 2001.